Jewish Law requires certain mourners to tear a visible garment in symbolic demonstration of grief. The garment, often a shirt, is then worn throughout the period of Shiva - the week of mourning that follows the funeral.

Serving as both private meaning-maker and public marker of mourning status, Shiva Shirts are often discarded once the Shiva period is over. And yet, they retain liminality, both cherished and reviled as souvenirs of sorrow.

In displaying the shirts worn by me, my family members and friends during recent loss of loved ones I want to retain the ruptured sense of sacred in everyday materials and the beauty lingering in loss.

2015Although I'm a visual artist, I believe that music is the highest art form, and I wanted to represent that with a sculpture. The base of this tree is a stereo receiver/amplifier that I had for nearly 20 years, which finally stopped working: a reciever that over the years I've listened to countless hours of music through. The receiver - representing music here - is giving birth to creation (represented by the tree).